September 20, 1982
The President today announced the second annual President's Volunteer Action Awards, a program designed to honor outstanding volunteer achievements and to call public attention to what can be accomplished through voluntary action.
The President will present the awards in April at a White House ceremony. Awards will be made in 10 categories: jobs, health and mental health, the environment, material resources, education, public safety, arts and humanities, human services, international volunteering, and the workplace.
VOLUNTEER, The National Center for Citizen Involvement, and ACTION, the Federal agency of voluntarism, will cosponsor the program in a unique, cooperative effort between the private sector and government. Funding for the program is provided by private sector corporate and foundation sponsors.
In announcing the program, the President said: ``I just wish those who are pessimistic about the future of America could see an overview of this surge of creative and humanitarian action. We believe it should be recognized, encouraged, and promoted. And that's why we established the President's Volunteer Action Awards, to focus public attention on the accomplishments of our nation's volunteers.''
VOLUNTEER is the primary national organization supporting greater citizen involvement in problem-solving. It provides a broad range of technical assistance services to volunteer-involving organizations, public agencies, unions, and corporations. It works closely with a network of approximately 225 associated Voluntary Action Centers and over 1,000 other local, State, and national organizations.
ACTION serves to stimulate voluntarism and to demonstrate the effectiveness of volunteers in addressing social problems. Its major programs include the Foster Grandparent, Retired Senior Volunteer, and Senior Companion programs for the elderly, and a variety of programs for youth. ACTION also promotes private sector initiatives by providing short-term grants to innovative volunteer projects in such areas as literacy and drug abuse.
Sixteen individuals and groups and two corporations received the first awards at a White House ceremony on April 15, 1982.
Note: The White House press release contained a list of the recipients of the 1982 awards, which were presented in April 1982.